@start-1@Tail-biting in pigs and feather pecking in poultry are two types of behaviour causing serious injuries to farm animals. Scientists are working for Welfare Quality® to design test in order to find out what causes these damaging behaviours and how they can be minimised/prevented on commercial farms. One study investigates the effects of straw provision at different ages on the development of tail-biting to find out at which time of life the provision of straw is most effective at preventing or minimising tail-biting. In order to identify potential ‘problem’ pigs, this is tested by measuring the time pigs spent chewing a short length of rope (which resembles a tail) attached to a piece of board because this chewing behaviour may be related to tail-biting. Research into feather pecking is carried out by studying the @end-1@@start-2@ Damage that can be done by feather pecking

importance of risk factors, particularly in rearing but also in laying hens. Comparative data are being collected of both bodily states and mortality of hens as well as reports from farmers and parameters about husbandry systems. Further research looks at whether feather-pecking chickens are especially active or show an unusually high motivation to forage and to redirect foraging or other types of behaviour towards the feathers of other birds. Preliminary results show that feather-pecking chickens were more active and also preferred straw over peat. This information may indicate which types of foraging material should be provided to minimise feather pecking. More@end-2@